Platinum (All That Glitters #3) (38 page)

Trihn noticed she was barefoot.

“Oh my God, are you Damon?” Lydia asked.

“That’s me. You must be Lydia,” Damon said, his accent thick.

Lydia looked like she wanted to rush over and hug him, but she somehow managed to control herself. “It is amazing to finally meet you. I love your music. Both of us do.” She waved for Preston to come down the steps. “This is my fiancé, Preston.”

Damon released Trihn to step forward and offer his hand to Preston.

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Damon said, his voice low.

They were nearly eye-level with one another, and Trihn could see that their handshake was more of a squeeze. They warily eyed each other, sizing the other one up.

“That right?” Preston asked.

Damon laughed at Preston seemingly rising to the occasion and then released his hand. “Yeah. You two are getting married, right?”

“Yes,” Lydia beamed. “I hope you will join us.”

Damon caught Trihn’s eye, ignoring Lydia’s apparent charm. “We’ll see. Come on, love.”

Damon offered Trihn his arm, and they strolled into the house with their luggage without a backward look. Trihn showed him where the room was, and they stashed their bags.

She collapsed back onto the bed with a laugh. “That was hilarious. Did you see the look on his face?” she asked.

“I was preoccupied with yours.” He sank down on the bed and looked over at her. “You’re not still thinking about him, are you?” His words were hesitant, as if he hadn’t wanted to ask.

Trihn quickly sat up and looked deep into his eyes. “No. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want them to get married, but it’s not about me. It’s about Lydia. I wish I could prove to her that he’s not a good guy. But it has nothing to do with how I feel about Preston at all.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure that, when you saw him, it didn’t change anything.”

“Are you that worried about our love?” she asked.

“First love is hard to overcome. He was the guy you compared everyone else to. You’ve spent two years obsessing over a few days spent here at this beach house. I just want to make sure you’re okay, that we’re okay,” he told her.

“I am. We are,” she told him. “I’ve realized there are more good memories here than bad ones. I wish I’d seen it earlier. I was worried that being in this room would remind me of the time he and Lydia had had sex loud enough that I could hear it, driving me from the Hamptons entirely,” she said quietly.

“You never told me that.”

“It’s a dark memory. I don’t like to think about it. But being here with you is just right. It’s about new memories.” Trihn smiled. “You’re my future. I don’t want to live in the past.”

“Well, good,” Damon said before kissing down her neck, “because I like the idea of us having a future together.”

“Mmm…me, too.” She leaned her head back, getting lost in his kisses and forgetting everything else.

“
WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE
?” Trihn screeched.

She and Damon had managed to survive an awkward dinner exchange with Preston and Lydia the night before. And to avoid another such encounter, Trihn and Damon had to decided to spend the day on the beach. But she definitely had not expected to see her two best friends from home strolling toward her.

Trihn tackled Renée in a hug. She was a petite African American girl with black hair, and she was the most amazing ballet dancer Trihn had ever seen. It had been crazy to be separated from her, but when they were back together, it was as if no time had passed.

“Hey, hooker,” Renée said with a laugh.

Trihn turned her sights to her other best friend, Ian. She released Renée and pulled Ian into a hug. The two couldn’t have been more different. Renée had grown up in the Bronx with a single mother and was constantly helping to provide for her younger siblings. But Ian was from old money, and his parents owned the beach house next to Trihn’s. He preferred cardigans and computers and was embarrassed by Renée’s crude humor. But they somehow worked.

“I’ve missed you both.”

Ian smiled. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“This is Damon.”

“Damon Stone,” Renée said, eyeing him up and down.

Shirtless, he was just wearing blue swim trunks, and Trihn knew he looked amazing.

“Well, I have to say this is a massive improvement,” Renée added.

Trihn laughed and looked at Renée in exasperation. Ian and Damon shook hands and immediately started talking as if they were old friends.

It felt…amazing. Trihn couldn’t believe how great it was to just be out in the sun in her all black bikini, lying in the sand with her boyfriend and best friends, with no worries. No Preston and Lydia. No Chloe. No paparazzi. It was just a relaxing day.

Except it wouldn’t last.

After they’d been out for an hour, two figures started traipsing toward them on the beach.

“Oh no,” Renée said.

“What?” Trihn asked. She put her sunglasses back on and squinted in their direction. “Oh.”

“Are they really coming over here?”

“Looks like it.”

Damon frowned. “Lydia really wants you to be at that wedding.”

“No fucking way!” Renée cried.

“I have to agree. It would be disastrous,” Ian said.

“And I don’t want to go, so she can shove it,” Trihn added.

The group fell silent as Lydia and Preston drew near.

“Mind if we crash this party?” Lydia asked. “We brought some more beer.”

Preston dropped a cooler into the sand before anyone could decline, and he started handing out beers. Trihn reluctantly took one, hoping that the alcohol would soothe their bad company.

Lydia laid down another blanket in the sand and spread it out. Preston stripped out of his own shirt and tossed it into a bag before joining her.

Damon’s gaze rested back on Trihn, and she smiled confidently. She was not going to let this ruin their afternoon.

Trihn leaned in and planted a kiss on Damon’s lips. “This is much better than tour buses and hotel rooms, isn’t it?” she asked playfully.

“Definitely.”

“What was that like?” Lydia asked. “Touring, that is.”

Damon leaned back on his elbows. “Busy and wonderful. Always going, going, going with no time to do much else. Going a lot of places but seeing nothing. Have to say though, performing in front of tens of thousands of people never gets old.”

“That sounds incredible. I wish I could have gone to one of your shows.” Lydia smiled sweetly. “I would have made the New York one if…well, you know…it was still happening.”

“Yeah,” Damon said.

“And what about Chloe Avana?” Preston said.

“What about her?” Damon asked.

Trihn bit her lip and looked between the two of them. Preston had brought Chloe up on purpose.

“Is she really in rehab?”

“Yeah, she is. She had a mental breakdown. I’m pretty sure everyone in the country saw proof of that,” Damon said.

Despite the fact that Chloe had briefly come between him and Trihn, he still sharply defended Chloe. She was a friend and a coworker, and he hated hearing people who didn’t know her talk about her. He would give Bryna a pass for her dislike of Chloe. Though, after Chloe’s breakdown, Bryna’s dislike had somehow lessened.

“I don’t think that’s the only proof the world saw,” Preston said before tipping his beer back.

“You mean the kiss video?” Trihn asked boldly.

Preston shrugged. “We all saw it.”

“And somehow you think that makes it your business?”

“Trihn,” Damon said softly, “it’s fine. I haven’t been able to go more than a few hours without hearing about that video. I have a feeling it’s going to follow me everywhere.”

“And you’re still together?” Preston asked. He stared at Trihn, waiting for her answer.

“Obviously.” Damon leaned forward and kissed Trihn on the mouth.

Trihn smiled and sighed before turning back to Preston. “Are you done with your interrogation?”

Lydia smacked Preston’s arm. “Don’t be such a downer. I’m sure it’s fake. Trihn picked a real keeper—a famous musician on tour with Chloe Avana and with a number one hit at that.”

“That just went platinum,” Renée chimed in. She shrugged when Trihn looked at her. “I’ve been following his career, too.”

Damon laughed. “I’m glad you all approve of my career. It’s a crazy life, but I wouldn’t have any of it without Trihn.”

Lydia giggled, and Trihn was pretty sure even Renée swooned. Trihn felt herself relaxing again. Preston didn’t have any ammunition against Damon. And the more he acted like a dick, the more even Lydia seemed to get annoyed with him.

“Come on, Trihn, Renée,” Lydia said, grabbing her arm. “Let’s leave the boys alone and go take a dip in the water.”

“All right,” Trihn said. She stood and reached for Renée, who hopped up to join them.

The girls all ran,
Baywatch
-style, into the water, laughing and splashing each other, until they were waist-deep in the blue ocean. Renée immediately tied her hair up into a ballet bun to keep it from getting wet. Trihn didn’t even care at this point.

If someone had told her that she’d be back in the Hamptons, enjoying her time with her sister again, she would have laughed in their face. But the truth was, it was nice to be here with Lydia—Preston, not so much. This seemed more like the sister she had grown up with than the sister he had turned against her.

“God, it’s so good to have you here,” Lydia said. “Both of you. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, too, Renée.”

Renée nodded. “Yeah, well…we’re all busy, I guess.” She looked at Trihn with raised eyebrows. Clearly, that was the nicest thing she could have said.

“And you and Ian? I would never have guessed. For the longest time, I thought he had a crush on Trihn, but I’m so happy for you.”

“He did,” Renée said. “It was fucking weird, but it somehow works between us.”

“Not somehow,” Trihn said. “It makes perfect sense.”

“And Damon seems pretty incredible,” Lydia said.

“He is,” Trihn agreed.

“I just…I know this isn’t a popular topic, but I really would like for you all to come to the wedding,” Lydia said. Her eyes were fearful as she waited for the backlash.

“No,” Renée said before Trihn could respond, “Sorry but no.”

“I really didn’t expect it to go this way,” Lydia said softly.

“What way
did
you expect it to go, Lydia?” Trihn asked.

Lydia took a step back and looked out across the water. “I don’t know. I thought…I guess I didn’t think it was as big of a deal as you made it out to be. I thought, with you gone, you’d come to see that I love Preston even though we all had a falling-out.”

“Lydia, it’s not a falling-out. It was you choosing him over me, betraying your sister for a guy. That’s not something reparable by just hoping it will go away.”

“I guess I just never realized that. I’ve had a lot of time to think since the engagement, and I wish I could change some things, like have you know that I didn’t mean for it to be a choice between you and him. I think I was just emotional and irrational at the time. I thought you would come around, and we’d all figure it out. But…well, I’m sorry, Trihn,” Lydia said. She wiped a stray tear from her eye.

Trihn sighed. “It’s okay. I have Damon now, and I’m doing better emotionally. Plus, it would be nice to have a sister again…but I still can’t come to that wedding.”

“On principle,” Renée agreed.

“Okay,” Lydia said meekly. “I wish the wedding were tomorrow though, so I could just get it over with.”

“What? Why?” Trihn asked. That didn’t sound like Lydia.

“I did something really dumb. I told Preston that I didn’t want to have sex until we got married.”

Trihn’s mouth dropped open.

“Isn’t it a little late for that?” Renée asked.

“Have you ever gone that long?” Trihn added.

“No,” Lydia admitted. “I mean, it’s just for the month up to the wedding. But, damn, it’s awful.”

Trihn laughed. No wonder Preston was in such a bitch mood. He was probably dying for some action. He wasn’t the type to wait.

“Well, good luck with that,” Trihn said, unable to conceal her laughter. “I’m having none of those issues.”

“Me either,” Renée said.

“Yeah. I just thought it would be good for us.”

Trihn shook her head. “You’re a nutjob.”

She turned back to face the beach and realized that Ian was standing between Preston and Damon. Preston looked to be fuming, and if Trihn was seeing correctly, Damon looked like he was…laughing.

“Oh, Jesus,” Trihn whispered.

She was running through the water as fast as she could and hurtled up onto the beach. She could hear splashing behind her and knew the girls were following.

“What the hell is going on?” Trihn asked the guys.

Damon was, in fact, laughing in Preston’s face. “Nothing, love. Just having a much-needed conversation with your sister’s fiancé.”

Preston looked pissed off. Trihn could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

“Fuck you,” Preston said to Damon.

“I’ll really pass,” Damon said.

“Well, I’ve already fucked her, so have fun with my sloppy seconds.”

Trihn gasped.